Leave a generator on a job site long enough and there’s usually a dark spot under it. A fuel fitting weeps, oil seeps past a gasket, or someone overfills it at the end of a long shift. A low foam wall berm under the unit catches that before it reaches the gravel or a storm drain. Setting one up is just unfolding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Measure the unit’s footprint, then add about a foot on every side. Don’t forget the trailer tongue. A common mistake is buying for the generator body and ending up with the tongue jack sitting on the foam wall. Footprints below are rough ranges; measure your own equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a small skid-mounted unit, we’d start with a mini foam wall berm. They have 6-inch walls and weigh 3 to 9 pounds, so one person carries them in. For anything on a trailer, go to the 4-inch PVC foam wall berms, which come in the longer footprints towable equipment needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compare the berm’s gallon rating with the largest fuel tank or oil reservoir sitting inside it. A berm that holds more than the full tank covers a total failure, not just drips. If the site has an SPCC plan or a permit with containment requirements, size the berm to what that document says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Refuel with the unit sitting in the berm. If a fuel nozzle overfills or a can tips, the spill lands in the berm instead of on the ground. Keep a small spill kit at the refueling spot for anything that splashes outside the walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What size berm do I need for a towable generator?<\/strong> Measure the unit with its tongue and add about a foot on each side. Many towable generators fit a 10′ x 20′ berm; smaller towable light towers and compressors often fit a 10′ x 10′.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can I back a trailer-mounted generator into a foam wall berm?<\/strong> Yes. The foam walls compress under the tires and stand back up after the wheels pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s the difference between the mini foam wall and the standard foam wall berm?<\/strong> The mini berms have 6-inch walls, weigh 3 to 9 pounds and come in 2′ x 2′, 4′ x 4′ and 4′ x 6′. The standard PVC foam wall berms have 4-inch walls and run from 4′ x 6′ up to 10′ x 50′ for larger towable equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do foam wall berms ship free?<\/strong> Yes, to the continental US. Smaller sizes ship UPS Ground; 10′ x 30′ and larger ship LTL freight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Browse the mini foam wall berms<\/a> for small equipment and the foam wall containment berm collection<\/a> for towable units. If you also fuel equipment on site, see spill containment for mobile refueling and fuel transfer<\/a>. Need help matching a berm to your equipment? Call (800) 869-9633.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leave a generator on a job site long enough and there’s usually a dark spot under it. A fuel fitting weeps, oil seeps past a gasket, or someone overfills it at the end of a long shift. A low foam wall berm under the unit catches that before it reaches the gravel or a storm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Generator Spill Containment: Picking a Berm for Job Sites","_seopress_titles_desc":"How to contain fuel and oil leaks under portable generators, compressors and light towers. Berm sizes by footprint, capacity, and set-up tips for job sites.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107521"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107521"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107525,"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107521\/revisions\/107525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absorbentsonline.com\/spill-containment-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Equipment<\/th> Typical footprint<\/th> Berm to look at<\/th> Capacity<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Small portable generator or pressure washer<\/td> under 3′ x 3′<\/td> Mini foam wall 2′ x 2′<\/a> or 4′ x 4′<\/a><\/td> 15 or 60 gal<\/td><\/tr> Skid-mounted generator, pump or welder<\/td> up to about 3′ x 5′<\/td> Mini foam wall 4′ x 6′<\/a> or 4′ x 6′ PVC foam wall<\/a><\/td> 75 or 59 gal<\/td><\/tr> Towable light tower or small towable compressor<\/td> about 5′ x 10′ with tongue<\/td> 10′ x 10′<\/a><\/td> 249 gal<\/td><\/tr> Towable generator or large compressor<\/td> about 6′ x 14′ to 7′ x 18′ with tongue<\/td> 10′ x 20′<\/a><\/td> 498 gal<\/td><\/tr> Generator plus fuel cube or several units in a row<\/td> varies<\/td> 10′ x 30′<\/a> and up, or a custom size<\/a><\/td> 748 gal and up<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n How much capacity is enough?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Set-up tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Refueling inside the berm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Shop generator containment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n